Oh dear! Why me?
by Yoyi-Yi
Summary: It's wake-up time and they wake up. There's something weird going on. (More pairing, tags and characters inside)
1. Odd Things

**Notes**: Many thanks to my FABULANTASTIC BETA Brainy (AO3 I can hear her in the distance complaining about me calling her that, hihihi) for her work on this... thing. :D

**Characters**:

Nicholas Rush; Amanda Perry; Eli Wallace; Ginn; Everett Young; Tamara Johansen; Varro; The Destiny

**Tags and pairings**:

Amanda Perry/Nicholas Rush; Nicholas Rush/Everett Young; Eli Wallace/Ginn; Tamara Johansen/Varro  
>Humor; Light Angst; Kissing; Holding Hands; Awkwardness; Hinted relationship between Varro and Ginn though not really a pairing in this fic; Destiny feeling bored and doing evil deeds... or what her crew think is evil but that she finds extremely funny; I am playing the role of the Destiny because it's me who thinks it's funny; More humor; Maybe more awkwardness<p>

**Chapters**: 1 of 2

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><p><span>Chapter 1:<span> Odd things

When he woke up he saw a very exhausted Eli, smiling viciously, looking at him from the other side of the glass. The door slid up and he could get out to find himself being stretched between the arms of the very exhausted Eli, still smiling viciously. It was at least awkward, so he didn't move a centimetre, just in case, feeling all his body tensing up. He was feeling tired too. In fact, he was feeling even more tired than how he felt before going into stasis.

"I did it! I'm alive! It's so great to be alive!"

For some reason, this made him relax into the embrace and smile. "Yes, you did it Mr. Wallace."

"Aw! C'mon Rush! Don't talk to me like that! I mean, it's an honour to be called like that by you but I think I prefer if you keep calling me by my given name instead."

"Yes, yes..." Rush said, not holding a small laugh. "Now, I think you can let me go."

"Ah! Yes, I can." After Eli released him, he ran towards Col. Young's stasis pod and opened it, grinning the same way he did when he was waiting for Rush to open his eyes. When the door slid up, he assaulted Young as well and repeated the same words. Young laughed happily and hugged back, patting him on the shoulder twice or so.

"Good work, Eli. You did a good job."

By the time Young noticed Rush, he was already on the computer, running an analysis on the state of the ship, their current position regarding the star they would be using to re-fuel and looking for the best candidates to wake up first. Of course, those were already selected, but still he checked out and looked for possible causalities. None thus far.

Rush looked up from the screen when he sensed Young staring at him. He thought he saw something whiting Young's eyes, something familiar. But that feeling disappeared as fast as it appeared. That something... retreating into the depths of the man's eyes. Rush frowned, but only looked down again.

"Hey, TJ, good to see you!" Eli said, greeting one by one those who were waking up.

"So, did we make it?"

Rush didn't stop reading the screen or pushing buttons, but he answered, "More or less. We are six months and three weeks into the third year. Maybe they won't expect us to make contact now, but it would be advisable to give it a try after we have recharged. Also, it will take at least another week to reach the star, so it would be better if we don't wake up more people, to keep the waste of energy it at a minimum."

"Yes," Young nodded. "We still have all that dried food and the water tank should have enough water for us. We need to make shifts for the bridge. I could do with an actual sleep."

Rush only nodded.

"TJ? Are you okay?"

They both looked at TJ and Eli. The young man had TJ's hands on his, and she looked pale for a moment.

"Yes. Don't worry." She freed her hands and turned around, giving Young a small glance. If Rush hadn't been looking he would have missed it. There was something going on, something different than the usual almost discrete stares shared between the Colonel and his Lieutenant, as if there was another secret.

Suspicion grew in Rush. There was something going on and it had little to do with the past of those two. The same familiar expression on Young appeared and disappeared as soon as he and TJ's eyes connected. "Suspicious," he mumbled to himself and went back to work. He could worry about it later. Maybe it had to do with the pods, but he shouldn't pry into it, not yet.

"Well, I think we all should go to have a check up," said Camile, rubbing her eyes. "I also need to know when we will be contacting Earth, so I can prepare something to give to them."

"Good idea, Camile. Though the last thing I want to do when we go to Earth is being debriefed or debriefing."

Young and Camile left, discussing about the report they should write and other stuff related to the IOA and the SGC. TJ, on the other hand, stood where she was, looking cryptically between Rush and Eli.

"Are you sure you are okay, Lieutenant?" Rush dared to ask. He approached her and for a brief moment he had the same feeling of before. Definitely something is off, he thought.

"Yes?"

"Lieutenant?"

"TJ?"

"Yes? What?"

Eli and Rush exchanged looks. They both were thinking the same. Eli mouthed it and Rush gave a short nod,

"I'm just a bit tired."

Rush nodded. "Yes. These are not like going to sleep. We are kept exactly as we were when we went in, so if you were tired before, you'll be now."

"Em... Maybe we should take this opportunity to try and rest?"

Rush shook his head. "No, Eli. Too much to do, too little personnel," he said, and then motioned for the young mathematician to follow him. "We need to know more about the status of the ship. It seems it recharged already in a white dwarf to be able to wake us up, but the levels of energy are still too low."

"So, to make a plan on how to save energy. No showers, then?"

"No, no showers. And maybe we shouldn't use the lights either. Some flashlights will suffice."

"Okay, I'll go and look for Camile and the Colonel to tell them."

"So, I suppose we can't use the infirmary," TJ said.

"Not yet, Lieutenant. At least, we can't use any of its equipment, but if it is necessary, the beds and the medicines are there, and we need you to be prepared in case something happens." Rush was looking down at the screen again. "Before we went into stasis I took some flashlights to this room. The batteries are in my pockets. I thought that maybe it wouldn't work with them, but it's worth the try."

"What? Doc! What if they got broken?"

"Don't worry Mr. Wallace." Eli grimaced and Rush smirked. "I didn't take all the batteries, just some for the lights. Here, try it out. They should be fully charged." Eli nodded and took them. "They should be behind those pods," Rush added, and Eli went to retrieve the lanterns.

"That was quite intelligent," TJ said, and Rush looked at her with a frown. "What? Did I say something wrong?"

"No..., no. It's just... Nothing. I must be tired." Yes he had to be, because the way Lieutenant Johansen said that statement was quite differently of how she usually spoke. Something amiss again. He looked back again to the woman's eyes and saw it again. "Who are you?" he asked in a quiet voice.

TJ opened her mouth, expression bewildered, ready to answer or maybe just because she was surprised. Her face told him enough. How did you know? Was the question in her eyes.

"Hey, guys! I found them and they work! Doc, that was amazing! I wouldn't have thought of that! Woah! Well, maybe I would, if I hadn't been so full of work and worries about fixing the pod and wondering if I would survive long enough or if I should-.." Eli cut himself when he caught the worried expression on TJ's face. "What?"

"Fixing a stasis pod? Survival?" She looked over at Rush, then back to Eli. "What's going on?"

Rush let out the breath he didn't know he was holding. That was Tamara Johansen. "There was a little problem with one of the last three pods, but it's all right now. Eli will fill all of us in later. We have other worries now." He took one of the flashlights from Eli's hands and handed it to TJ. "First, we need to find where the Colonel and Camile went, so we can turn off whatever lights they might have turned on and give them these. Then, we have to go to the Apple Core to run another diagnosis."

"Yes, yes. To make a list of what kind of things we can use and what we can't. Uh... Doc... Did you just say "Apple Core" or did I hallucinate?"

Rush smirked, turned around and went out, being followed by the other two, without answering.

"Is it the wrong name?" TJ asked as they walked out. "I mean, we all use that as the name. Apple Core," she clarified.

"No, well. It is and it's not. It's the Control Interface Room, but that's just a nick-name and-"

"Mr. Brody seems to not be so fond of that nick-name," Rush said, cutting Eli mid sentence.

"Uh? You do that to annoy him?" Eli asked and TJ started to laugh.

Rush gave a half shrug. "It's a catchy name, I use it from time to time."

They found Young and Camile in the mess hall talking over cups of what passed as coffee. On the way there, they had turned off the non-essential lights.

"Took you long enough," Young said, smiling. "What are the lanterns for?"

"Saving power," Eli said, giving each one. "Doc thinks that-"

"Mr. Wallace, why do you keep calling me "Doc"?" Rush cut with an affronted look. The other four laughed.

"It's catchy," Eli said, smiling a bit devilish.

"Ron's names are catchy," TJ said at the same time.

Young and Camile laughed a bit and Rush frowned deeply. "Yes, well. We have to keep the use of power to a minimum, so we won't be using the lights on the corridors, that's why the flashlights. Also, we won't be showering until we recharge and we should keep the doors either opened or closed, as they waste energy too."

"It's just a tiny bit of power! Why can't we close our doors?" Eli protested.

"Eli, if we don't save as much energy as we can, we might not make it in one week. Do you know what it means?" Eli nodded. "Good. We better leave the doors to our quarters open and don't touch any other door unless it's a necessity. Of course, the door to the infirmary will be kept open."

"Okay, something else?" Young asked, nodding at Rush's demanding.

"Yes, we won't be using any other computer than the one in the Control Interface Room. If we need to know something that will be the one we will go to. Only one computer. We could have two functioning, but better safe than sorry."

"Seems legit. Well, take a refreshment and go to rest, we can start working after we have rested for a while."

"What?"

"Nicholas, he is right. We are all worn out, we better take some rest before we start working, or we won't be able to do anything. I really could use a nap. Half an hour would be bliss, though I feel like I could sleep for years," Camile said, looking at Rush, the last bit more to herself than to the man.

Rush looked at Camile for a long moment of silence, then nodded. "Okay, if it's short, I think we can do it."

"Also, after we have rested, I want to check you all up, so I expect the four of you in the infirmary within the hour."

"Okay. Then I'll go to edit my documentary-"

"No, Eli, Rush said we need to save power," Young said while standing up.

"What? No, why? Colonel!"

Camile and TJ laughed a bit. "He is right Eli," Camile said, smiling fondly at the young man. "C'mon, let's get some sleep."

They all went to their own quarters.

Rush opened the door to his and fringed at the thought of not being able to close it. Well, it wasn't as if there were going to be people entering in without asking for his permission. He stripped from his vest and green T-Shirt, unbuckled his belt and unlaced his shoes, sitting on the mattress with a tired sigh. This week was going to be hell. He hoped there wouldn't be any complications, like a valve exploding or a shower of meteors straining the shield.

With his face hidden in his hands, elbows resting on the knees, he tried to think of a working line for the following days. He had his phone on the counter, but he doubted the battery still worked, so no alarms to set. What if he overslept? He couldn't go to sleep now with the risk of not waking up, he knew himself well enough to know he was tired enough to fall asleep soundly and not waking up for hours. The echo of steps made him look up. The sound was definitely of military boots, but the steps were too soft.

He saw the Colonel on his door, looking inside with an unsure look. The dim light of the FTL didn't help to make out what kind of expression Young was making, his face in shadows.

"Colonel Young?"

The man didn't answer, but kept staring at him. His shoulders were relaxed, and the way he moved when he stepped in—one, two steps—, was not how the man usually moved around.

"Who are you?" Rush stood up. There was something wrong, so wrong with this. It couldn't be someone from Earth, they agreed in not use the stones until they were fully recharged and all the crew was out of the pods. The lights of the FTL lightened up Young's face. Again, that look in his eyes. Familiar. He looked a bit sad and anxious, very anxious. He looked down and held his hand up in a gesture way too familiar and no, it was not possible. This wasn't happening at all. It was not... "Mandy?"

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><p><strong>Notes<strong>: Talking with Fragged (AO3) this crazy idea came, so here it is. About Rush calling the Control Interface Room "Apple Core"... EuticphicL (Deviantart) has a fanart that inspired me to write it. Go check it, it's funny. :)


	2. This is not happening to me

**Notes**: Sorry for the wait. It took me longer to finish this and the fic requires a third chapter, so this is chapter 2/3. Also, I forgot to add one thing: **OUT OF CHARACTER**! :D As always. Haha. Enjoy

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><p>"Mandy?"<p>

When Nicholas asked her, she looked up and then down again, at her hands, and nodded several times. How could she explain this to Nick? She didn't even know what was happening here. She only knew that she was in a closed space and then she opened her eyes—a stranger's eyes—and she was able to look at Nick, to hear his voice. And she suddenly realized that she was inside the body of Colonel Everett Young.

When she had looked at Tamara, she instantly knew that she wasn't the only one. There was someone else inside the woman, and she knew who. They recognised each other but didn't talk at all. What was there to talk about? They couldn't figure this out. Not yet. And Nick had said it himself, they shouldn't use any other computer than the one he had appointed out, and to use it to investigate into this would reveal that something was amiss. Of course they had to wait. But she... she couldn't wait. At least, she couldn't help it. It had been too long since the last time she saw him. She had had time to think things over and-

Her train of thoughts got cut off when she felt something warm around her. Something that was trembling too. It took her a while to understand what was happening. Nick was hugging her.

"How, how can this be possible?"

She couldn't talk. She couldn't _breathe_. It was too much for her, so she just cried. She was able to touch him again. To _feel_ his skin. "I'm sorry Nicholas. I'm sorry," she said, breathless.

"It's ok. It wasn't your fault. Don't worry, it's ok."

Oh, bliss. His hands on her hair. "I missed you."

"Me too."

0/0/0/0

"Soo... What's going on?"

TJ looked up from where she had been frowning, talking with herself in an internal monologue. "Eli?"

"Yes, well... I mean. I saw _it_ too, you know? It's weird, so tell me. What's going on?"

"I don't..."

"Oh, c'mon! Don't give me that crap! I know something happened when you were into stasis."

TJ looked down again, breathing in and out, slowly. "Okay, we can tell you. I suppose this didn't have to be kept a secret for ever."

"_We_? What do you mean by that?"

"You know... Ginn... Ginn is inside me."

Eli let out a strangled sound. "You are lying."

"No, Eli, Tamara is right."

"Ginn?"

TJ smiled sweetly at him. No, not TJ, Ginn.

"How can that be?"

"We don't know. Amanda and I, I mean."

"What? Dr. Perry is here too? Inside TJ?"

Ginn shook her head. "No, not with TJ. She... she decided not to be present to the person whose body she is using. I, on the other hand, talked it over with TJ."

"What? TJ and you can talk? I mean, when you were within Chloe.."

"This is different. Apparently, we can show ourselves to the... host, and share all the information we gather or we can retreat and be invisible, thus the host wouldn't know what happens when we take over."

"Take over?"

"Yes. I don't know the extent to it, since I decided to show myself, but I think that the host will be put into a... kind of sleep while we are active. Regarding that, it would be like when we were inside Chloe."

Eli had been coming closer and closer and now was sitting beside TJ, leaning in, eyes big with curiosity and hope and a handful of other emotions that could be seen in them. "It is really you..." he said, approaching a hand to TJ's face but not touching. "It is you... Ginn..." his eyes filled with tears and an immense smile appeared on his lips.

"Yes, it is me!" Ginn smiled, and it wasn't like any of TJ's smiles at all. It was all Ginn.

"Okay, kids, time to rest for a while. I will start with the check up shortly, so, Eli, go to sleep," TJ intervened separating a bit from Eli with an awkward smile.

Eli moved back too, blushing. "Yeah, em... yes. You are right, TJ. Arr.. I'm going to... to take a nap." He walked towards the door and looked back before leaving. TJ was smiling at him, but it was not TJ, it was Ginn. She mouthed "I love you", or so he thought, before he left.

0/0/0/0

He felt like a child. They were walking hand in hand towards Young's quarters, giggling non-stop. He couldn't hide his smile. Though it was a bit awkward to have Colonel Young's hands in his, but only looking at her eyes, he forgot all unpleasant feelings.

"So, what did you do these past years?"

"Oh! Well, we did nothing, really. I was trapped in a... box or something. I couldn't hear anything that happened outside. I was with Ginn all the time," she said, giggling still. "And we fought," she laughed. "For her, Eli's maths was more efficient than yours and for me, you had more interesting theories. We never reached an agreement."

Rush couldn't help it and laughed too. "Well, I do admit that Mr. Wallace has a brilliant mind, though if I had to choose, yours is astonishing."

Mandy blushed slightly before continuing her story. "I don't really know how much time passed, but then, all the barriers were broken and _Destiny_ herself materialized with Mr. Franklin, you know? And she told the three of us that she was going to try an experiment of some short. The next thing I remember is waking up in the colonel's body."

"What?" Rush stopped on his tracks.

"What's wrong?"

"_Destiny_ did it consciously?"

"Yes? Nick, what's wrong?" Rush was looking down, his eyes going from one point on the floor to another. She knew what that meant, he was thinking about something. And very fast. "Nick?"

"_Destiny_ is the one who downloaded your minds into the host bodies. That's why she awoke us up before reaching the start. Because it wouldn't be compatible with a frozen mind," Rush mumbled loud enough for Mandy to hear. Then, he looked up. "Mandy, where did Franklin go?"

"I... I don't know. It became blurry right after that. I didn't know that Ginn was here until I recognised her in Tamara's eyes. Maybe when we wake up the rest of the crew I will be able to tell... I'm not sure."

"It's ok. We will have to investigate this matter after _Destiny_ has recharged. But I don't know when exactly. There's a lot to be done."

"Ginn and I can help. We know some of _Destiny's_ algorithms by heart and we are familiar with her input and programs."

Rush nodded. "But be careful. We don't want Colonel Young noticing anything weird before we tell him."

Mandy nodded, too. After they stood hugging for what seemed to be an eternal moment, they discussed the basics of what had happened and they agreed on not telling Young until they could investigate more into the situation. They needed to know more, because they both knew Young would want answers to questions, and they still didn't have those. For example, why did _Destiny_ choose Young and TJ as hosts for them? Where was Franklin? What else had the ship done while they had been sleeping?

Mandy checked the time on Young's watch. "It's almost time for the check up," she said, sighing slightly.

"Really?" Rush rubbed his face with his hands. "We should have taken a nap."

Mandy laughed and asked with incredulity, "_Together_?" Rush looked at her, and she smiled. "Seriously?"

"You know what I mean?"

"Yes, Nick. But... think about it. Waking up and instead of me, having Colonel Everett Young tangled with you under the covers of your bed."

Rush shivered. "Urg!"

"Ha, ha, ha. Exactly."

Rush laughed too. "Don't put strange images in my mind, Little Miss Brilliant." They looked at each other for a while, still smiling. "Let's get going."

"As you wish, Mr. Brilliant."

0/0/0/0

Camile arrived at the infirmary finding Rush and Young standing close to each other and Eli almost plastered to TJ. There was something different in the dynamic between them. Camile felt it was a good thing, so she ignored it and let TJ take her vitals and answered her questions. It wasn't until she was leaving when she noticed something different. She thought it was just a hallucination on her part, but she confirmed it with a quick glance. Rush and Young were holding hands. She almost laughed.

"Who would have thought..." she muttered to herself. "See you later, guys," she said and went back to her quarters. Before going to stasis there had been a load of paperwork she had to catch on, so now, on this week, she was going to finish it all, or at least, try.

She also had to think about what she was going to do regarding Earth. There was a lot of stuff in her head that she wanted to resolve before going back. When she reached her quarters she felt something weird going on inside her head. At first, she thought it would fade away, but when time passed by and she still had the same itching in her brain she decided to confirm it.

When she arrived at the Control Interface Room she found Eli working on the computer.

"Eli, TJ told me she needs you for something in the infirmary, can you go?" she lied. Eli looked up with a bright smile.

"Sure, thanks Camile."

As soon as he was gone she approached the screen and started pushing buttons. "Well Dr. Franklin, tell me what's this all about."

0/0/0/0

They were walking hand in hand towards the bridge when it happened for the first time. Mandy slowed down and called his name with a worried voice. Of course, this was something they both knew was bound to happen sooner or later. She was being pushed back to the corner of Colonel Young's mind. He looked at her with a reassuring smile. It probably didn't work, because she was giggling at his poor intent, though that was ok, she was smiling. Then, she frowned and closed her eyes. When the eyes opened again she was gone. The frown was still in place.

"Are you ok, Colonel?" Rush asked. He was curious to know what Young could remember or if he was feeling somewhat different. The man was still frowning at Rush, which made him worry a bit. _A headache_, he thought. "Colonel?"

Young yanked his hand away as he averted his eyes. Right. Rush had been so worried about Mandy and Young noticing something that he forgot he was still holding Young's hand in his, fingers entangled together. A modest blush installed on his cheeks as he cleared his throat. "Good, it seems you are back to normal, Colonel. Let's get going," he said as non-chalantly as he could. "As I was telling you, there will be a few changes after we have recharged..."

Young followed him, but Rush could see that he was frowning at his hand, maybe wondering why were they holding hands. "Rush."

He looked at the colonel, stopping. "Yes?"

"I can't remember anything that I've done since I went to sleep," Young said in a quiet voice.

Rush felt like teasing. He knew he shouldn't, but the urge was extremely strong. "Then.. You are saying that you don't... You don't remember what happened in my... quarters? What you did?" Yeah, Young's body had hugged him. He couldn't hold himself for much longer, he was about to explode with laughter, so he turned around, covering his mouth with a hand so Young couldn't see his smile, and ran away before the laughter escaped his throat.

But that wasn't what a bewildered Colonel Everett Young saw. What the poor colonel saw was a man running away at the edge of tears. After longs minutes had passed, he finally reacted. No. No, no, no... What Rush was suggesting that he did... What exactly did he do? "What the fuck!?"

0/0/0/0

SMACK!

TJ hit Rush lightly on the back of his head while Eli, Rush and her laughed uncontrollably. "You shouldn't have done that!"

"I know. But I couldn't help it! You should have seen his face," Rush was saying while still laughing. He had told them about his little mischief and now they all were laughing at poor Colonel Young. Rush wondered since when he had been so good friends with these two, but he cast that thought away. Did that really matter? "Well, Mr. Wallace, let's go. We have a lot to do. Tamara," he said. Eli followed him out of the infirmary.

Ginn and TJ started an internal debate on what they should do, to tell the colonel or to keep quiet about it until they found a solution. After a while, Ginn decided to retire and left TJ alone. She was using the flashlight to re-arrange some of the stuff on the shelves when she heard footsteps.

"TJ? Are you here?"

"Yes! On here," she answered. Young entered her field of vision holding his own flashlight, looking worried. "Are you okay?"

"Did I do something weird when I came to have my check up?" Both questions overlapped. Young had asked Camile if he had been in the infirmary for his check-up earlier, worried that he might have done something else he didn't remember.

"No. You acted pretty normal. Is something wrong?"

"I... can't remember what I did since I went to sleep earlier," he admitted. "Not a single thing. It seems... I... I... I might have done something to Rush."

"Sir..." TJ managed to hold a strangled laugh. She shouldn't be like this. She turned away so the colonel couldn't see her holding the laughter, though she felt her shoulders trembling. She busied herself rearranging some leaves to collect herself while she tried to reassure the despairing man at her back. "You don't need to concern yourself with that, Everett. It was nothing serious, and Dr. Rush was exaggerating. You can be sure he was just..." she cut herself. "Everett?" Young was gone. "Oh, God..."

0/0/0/0

Young felt like he was drowning. Even TJ acted strange. Did Rush confide her what happened? But, what exactly had happened? He saw her tremble, he heard her muffle a cry. What did he do? Was it that bad that TJ couldn't even look him into the eye? He was sure that she was just trying to comfort him and maybe she would try to silence the case for him. No. This wasn't right. He had to do something about this.

He went in search for Eli. Because Eli might know too. He looked at his hand. He had to have done something that had made Rush took his hand like that. But what? There was only one thing he could think of right now, and it was the least likely to have happened. Also, it seemed like TJ and Rush thought it was despicable he didn't remember it, and that it was a good thing what he had done and... Okay, he was completely lost about it.

He groaned. This wasn't funny. Not funny at all. He went to the Control Interface Room and found Eli there alone, which was perfect for him, anyway.

"Eli, can we talk?"

"Colonel! Yes, what's up?" he said looking up from the screen.

"Do you know what happened between Rush and I?" Young said, going directly to the matter.

Eli started laughing.

* * *

><p><strong>More Notes<strong>: This is why I need a beta:

"Yes! On here," she answered. Young entered her field of vision holding his own flashlight looking worried.

(**BETA**: The flashlight looks worried. Ah. A comma might help) (**ME**: HAHAHAHAHAHA! Sorry. XDDDD Hahahahahahahhaahahahahahaha).


	3. Beyond Comprehension

**Notes**: I am sorry? It took me longer than I thought and there will be yet another chapter! *Sigh* This was supposed to be a two chapters fic... Why does this sh*t keeps growing!? WHY!?

So... Enjoy.

MANY THANKS to my fabulantastic Beta Brainy, who managed to make this understandable with less mistakes (if there's any left, it's my entire fault xD)

**Characters**:

Nicholas Rush; Amanda Perry; Eli Wallace; Ginn; Everett Young; Tamara Johansen; Varro; The Destiny

**Tags and pairings**:

Amanda Perry/Nicholas Rush; Nicholas Rush/Everett Young; Eli Wallace/Ginn; Tamara Johansen/Varro  
>Humor; Light Angst; Kissing; Holding Hands; Awkwardness; Hinted relationship between Varro and Ginn though not really a pairing in this fic; Destiny feeling bored and doing evil deeds... or what her crew think is evil but that she finds extremely funny; I am playing the role of the Destiny because it's me who thinks it's funny; More humor; Maybe more awkwardness<p>

**Chapters**: 3 of 4

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 3<span>: Beyond comprehension

Young stood there, scoffing at him while Eli tried to stop the laughter. He almost fell down to the floor. Eli was considering if he should tell Young the truth or keep him in the shadows, though if he looked at it, Young looked scared in the shadows. Maybe adding some light to the matter.

"Colonel, Doc was just trying to mock you. Nothing happened..." and he let the "yet" float in the silence of the room. Rush was right, teasing Young was good. "I mean, you didn't do anything to worry about," he finished. Young froze before him and Eli swallowed the laughter with some difficulties.

"So... something really did happen..."

Eli sighed, still amused. "Look. The best way to find out is going to Rush. He is taking a nap now. You can come back later, when it's his shift and ask him in person." Though he doubted Rush would let go of this amusement before the other crew members woke up, this was the best way to shake Young off, continue working, and have a bit more of fun on his behalf.

"You are right. Besides, I still have a lot of work to finish on my own," Young said, walking away.

"Er... Colonel?" Eli waited until Young was looking at him. "Don't get mad at him if he tells you."

Young nodded and left. Eli shook his head. He couldn't believe the Colonel would fall for such a trick. "He will kill us when he discovers the truth," Eli mumbled to himself with a satisfied smirk.

/0/

So. Nothing life changing happened then. But there had happened something, and none of the crew members who were awake wanted to tell him. The only way to grasp a bit of it was asking the other party involved, but could he really trust what Rush had to say? What if he lied? What if they all were lying and nothing happened? Maybe he was just sleepwalking to Rush's quarters and stood there while Rush stared at him. Certainly, watching Eli laugh like that took off some of the heavy weight he had been feeling since Rush ran away. He couldn't have done something horrible if Eli thought it was worth laughing so hard.

He sighed, still confused. The positive point was that it seemed like Rush was really mocking him, and maybe he overreacted when he saw TJ giving him the back. He thought she was shocked, crying. But if he took what he understood from his little chat with Eli and looked at his interaction with TJ on the same spectre, then, she was just trying to hide her laughter.

Young groaned, smacking his head on the nearest wall. Why was he always jumping to the worst conclusion? But Rush really had seemed distressed, right? Or... not? Maybe Rush was trying to hide his amusement from him?

"Oh, God! This is so... " Ridiculous. He was starting to feel ashamed of himself. Rush was only goofing. He was just making a prank. Nothing else. Well... It was strange enough to find Rush on a good day, not to talk about Rush making a joke. Young groaned again. "I'm going to kill him," he whispered to himself. He checked the hour. "After I take a nap. I feel so tired."

True. He felt like he hadn't slept all day. Work could wait, right? He hoped so. He really needed a nap.

/0/

TJ was sleeping on one of the Lounge's couches when Camile woke her up. Unintentionally, she guessed, as she saw the worried look on the woman's face.

"Camile, what can I do for you?" she asked, sitting up.

"Go back to sleep?" Camile answered with a smile. Both women chuckled. "I will come back later. It can wait."

"No, no. Tell me now. If you go now I won't be able to fall asleep until I know what you were up to."

"Well... It's about the pods... They... changed something..."

"Franklin?" TJ guessed while she stirred and yawned. "Yeah. Ginn told me. Welcome to the group." Camile stood there with her mouth hanging open. TJ laughed. "I suppose Franklin told you something about _Destiny_, Ginn and Mandy?"

"Yes, he did. He also told me _D__estiny_ gave him some instructions to perform before talking with any of you."

TJ frowned, slightly worried. "What did-?"

"I don't know. He said there was nothing to be worried about, and that _Destiny_ assured him nothing bad would happen to any of us, nor to the other people on-board."

"That doesn't sound reassuring at all, if you ask me," TJ said while she stood up. "Let's go to gather Rush and Eli. We have to see what the ship wanted Franklin to do."

Camile nodded. "It won't be anything bad, right?"

"I hope not."

They walked out, flashlights in their hands, towards Rush's quarters.

/0/

Rush woke up from a strange dream. He still could grasp a bit of it. Something about finding vessels or bodies. Something that was hollow that needed to be filled with... knowledge? Maths? Something abstract, maybe. He blinked fully awake when insistent footsteps and his name called with worry, kept echoing in the silent corridor and his room.

"I'm awake, I'm awake," he grumbled while sitting up. He didn't have time to arrive at the door, the t-shirt hanging on his hand, barefooted, yanking up his unbelted jeans -he realised he had lost more weight than what he thought when he forgot his belt once when his jeans slid down without trouble-, when the visitors appeared there. He saw a distressed TJ and a worried Camile on the other side of the open door.

"Whatever it is, it wasn't me," he said even before knowing what were the women there for.

TJ opened her mouth, not knowing too well how to answer that. Was it persecutory syndrome?

"It's about what _Destiny_ did with Mandy and Ginn and some tasks she gave to Franklin when she sent him to my mind," Camile said, straight face.

"Oh. So that's where Mr. Franklin ended up... Interesting."

"Doc, _Destiny_ told Franklin to do something with the computers in the Control Interface Room," TJ said. Rush couldn't help to notice how she didn't call it "Apple Core Room" this time. He nodded.

"After you," he said, motioning towards the corridor.

The women walked away, and he was about to follow them when he remembered his problem with his clothing –he let go of his trousers and they almost fell down–, so he took a minute to retrieve his belt. He managed to put on the t-shirt without letting go of the waist of the jeans, while he was being updated about what Camile remembered when Franklin was messing with the computer.

When they arrived, they found Eli hunching over the screen, a deep frown of concentration on his face.

"Hi! I just discovered here there's something-"

"We know. Franklin did it. What did he do?"

Eli looked up to find three people instead of one. He was only expecting Rush, truth be told, so he got startled to see Camile and TJ there too. "Well... That there's a hole in the data bank. Some stuff is missing."

Rush nodded. "Let me see."

While Eli made space for him to work on it, Camile and TJ looked at each other, surprised. Rush asking nicely instead of pushing the younger man away? That was hard to believe. "We need kinos. We really need them," whispered Camile. TJ nodded in acquiescence. They ought to record Rush acting like... well, nothing like he was before.

"Here. The data about the transfer from _Destiny's_ data bank to the pods is missing. Also, any algorithm that might help repeat it or anything that Mandy and Ginn did when they were inside the bank. She erased any trace of other minds being uploaded on her and there's no telling if we will be able to take them out of TJ, Camile or Young without using the chair now," Rush started saying, still pushing buttons and typing. "Shite! The chair is completely blocked!" He exclaimed, looking up. "We can't use the chair for this either."

"So, in case Ginn or Mandy start getting flashbacks of their death we won't be able to save either of them nor the hosts?" Eli asked with a highly pitched voice.

Rush looked at him. "It seems so. But we can override the blocking program when we recharge, and they had been well thus far. It's not likely for them to show symptoms now, though there's that possibility."

Camile was frowning. "That means we will be losing four people."

Rush was frowning too. "We need to get back that data. If we can get it back, we could use the pods in case the chair is still blocked. Camile, try to remember what Franklin saw or did."

TJ wasn't frowning. And she found it quite amusing. Out of the four of them, she wasn't frowning. Ginn was laughing inside her mind. "It won't happen again. _Destiny_ wouldn't have erased the data if the possibility of us dying in our hosts was over 0%," Ginn said, using TJ's voice.

Something biped and a message popped up on the screen. Rush and Eli looked at it. "That's a planet."

"Yes. It seems she will be stopping there after we recharge."

"Was that Ginn?" Camile asked. It seemed like she was the only one who felt it strange.

"Yes. It is me," TJ grinned. Then, she grinned widely. "I suppose these three hadn't updated you about Young and Mandy's condition, right?"

"Um. No."

"Perfect. Let me tell you what you can't tell him," she said with mischief on her eyes.

Rush smirked and Eli let out a little chuckle.

/0/

_Skin. Warm skin. Under him. Naked, warm skin. Not his. Also, not Emily's. Whose? He heard a chuckle. He kissed the skin under him. Shoulders. Warm. "Nicholas." He caressed skin. The man beneath him chuckled, happily. He turned around and they kissed._

Young woke up, shivering. Because what, the, fuck! He wiped the sweat from his forehead. "Jesus Christ!" he said. He had just woken up from a dream in which he was _kissing_ Rush's bare back... And he was pretty sure _all his body was naked_... Underneath him. "Oh, God! What the hell had happened there?" Was he supposed to believe them now? He wasn't sure anymore if it had just been a dream. The more awake he was, the more detailed the "dream" became. He rubbed his face. "I need to talk with him."

Though he didn't look for it. He was more afraid of Rush's reaction than... Well. He was afraid of Rush now. He stood up and went in search for the man. Most surely he would be at the Control Interface Room.

He saw a light in the far end of the corridor. Maybe he was (un)lucky and it was Rush. But no, he wasn't that (un)lucky. It was Camile. Young felt some weight lifting from him. She was good news. Even when she was bad news she was better news than Rush any time of the day. Which was a bit harsh on the man, but right now the only way he could think about Rush was in a negative way. He smiled.

"Camile."

"Ah! Colonel," she greeted back. "I was looking for you. We have proof that the pods did something to us. In fact, to me. I wanted to tell you first hand. Do not worry, it doesn't incapacitate me to do my work in any way."

Young's smile froze on his face. What if he had been affected by the pods too? "That's..."

"Yes, I know. Also, I wanted to ask you, nicely, to not do anything strange to the civilians on-board," she said it nonchalantly, but her face was straight and dead serious.

"What do you mean?"

"Oh. I think we both know what do I mean," she answered and left him there.

Young had the urge to hide until everything was over. Though he had not the slightest idea when "everything" would be over, or even what was that "everything".

"I'm so screwed," he whispered, walking like a reo de muerte. He really didn't want to talk with Rush, at all. Not now. Not ever. Half way to the Control Interface Room, a wide smile appeared on his lips, his shoulders and back straightened and he started to walk as if he weighed less than a feather, giggling.

/0/

Rush expected someone to enter the Control Interface Room. He didn't expect Colonel Young hugging him enthusiastically. But he did kiss back when Mandy made their lips meet. She smiled inside the kiss. In fact, she was laughing a bit.

"Well, what has you in such good mood?" he asked, breaking the kiss and smiling at her.

"You wouldn't guess," she teased.

Rush let out a small laugh and hugged her tight. "Why don't we try? Is it about the Colonel?" She smiled and nodded. "Oh! So it has to do with the situation he is in, right?" Mandy nodded again. "He remembered something." Mandy shook her head.

"More like remember, he saw something," she said, unable to hold it anymore. "I think he won't recover from this if you don't tell him."

Rush chuckled again. She was adorable. "So, what did he see?"

This time, before answering, Mandy blushed and looked down. "Do you remember the simulation?"

Rush groaned and hid his face on Mandy's shoulder. "Don't tell me he saw _us_," he pleaded.

"Ok. I can hide it but..."

"What part?"

"Nothing much. Just... a little bit. Before we... Well..."

Mandy was now as red as a tomato, and that was adorable. God, he loved her. "Well, as long as he didn't see anything else..."

"No. And I don't even know how he managed to see it. He was just sleeping. Maybe when he sleeps our consciousness mix?"

"Let's hope not," Rush said.

/0/

When Young opened his eyes and discovered himself with his hands at both sides of Rush's body, the man pinned to the wall, and their faces maybe a bit too close he instantly knew that what he thought before was right. The pods did something to him. Rush looked at him, worried expression.

"Colonel? Are you okay?"

Young didn't answer, he just stood there, dumbfounded. He was physically unable to move away.

"You look pale. Are you sure you are okay?" Rush was frowning. And acting as if they had been in a conversation before he "woke up".

"What?"

"Colonel, you shouldn't push yourself too much. There's only a couple of days before we recharge and you will be able to rest... More or less. Please, don't exhaust yourself."

This was weird.

"Did I do something?"

Rush's brow rose. His face saying it all, the unspoken question: "Are you a moron?"

"Yes? We were talking and suddenly you felt dizzy. Or so you said. And then you almost fell down. You kept repeating you were okay."

Oh, c'mon! Rush was lying, even he could see that. But it was a comforting lie. Maybe he didn't do something too bad?... Unless they had sex and he didn't have any sort of idea why it could even happen. And, well, he knew that his right hand shouldn't still be over Rush's left hip. His hands were trembling.

"Do you need me to accompany you to the infirmary?" Rush offered.

_Oh! Yes, perfect. Let's go to a place not only with little to none light, and beds. That will be wonderful_, Young thought, sarcastically. _I need to get a grip!_

"No, thank you. I can go on my own," he said. And as he was walking away, everything went dark. Before he lost consciousness, he heard Rush's voice.

"Maybe we should walk him to the infirmary. It'll be best if he wakes up there."

He had the faint feeling that he answered that, but couldn't quite grasp it.


End file.
